Name Something That to You Is a Prized Possession

4/7/2013 Called to Holiness

1. Motivate

Name something that to you is a prized possession.

-  jewelry that belonged to a parent or grandparent

-  a car that you restored on your own

-  an award you won in a competition

-  a present you received for a special birthday, anniversary, or holiday

-  a hunting trophy that you captured/bagged and was mounted

-  the picture of you with someone famous

-  the flowers you saved from a special occasion (wedding, prom, anniversary)

-  the baseball you caught hit by a famous player

-  an outfit, a set of dishes, or something you saved up for a long time to buy

2. Transition

Israel was God’s special possession …

-  He had rescued them out of slavery and now would set them up as a nation

-  Similarly God has rescued believers from the penalty and power of sin’s slavery

-  Today we look at God wanted Israel (and us) to be holy, set apart!

3. Bible Study

3.1 Who We Should Be

Listen for the requirements of the contract or covenant God establishes with the people.

Exodus 19:1-6 (NIV) In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt--on the very day--they came to the Desert of Sinai. [2] After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. [3] Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: [4] 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. [5] Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, [6] you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

What events of the past should the people of Israel consider as they anticipated the future?

-  all the things God did to the Egyptians (their slave masters)

-  God’s miraculous rescue of them from slavery

-  how God brought them to Himself … “carried you on eagles’ wings”

What were the requirements of the covenant?

-  listen to God

-  carefully keep the covenant (the rules, the commandments)

What was God’s part or promise of the covenant?

-  they would be God’s own possession out of all other peoples of the earth

-  they would be a kingdom of priests

-  they would be a holy (set apart) nation

Why do you think God wanted Israel to be a holy (set apart) nation? They did this in many ways down through the ages, separating themselves from gentiles.

-  wanted them to be separate from the heathen practices around them

-  did not want them to be involved in pagan worship like nearby nations

-  they were to depend on Jehovah, the I AM, the God Who Is (contrasted with “them who ain’t”)

-  they were not to depend on false gods

Recall that the duty of a priest is to represent God to the people and represent the people to God. How would Israel do this as a nation?

-  demonstrate Jehovah God’s dealings with men to other peoples

-  show others how God wants people to live

-  demonstrate God’s love to mankind

-  eventually to be the channel through which the Messiah, the Savior would come into the world as a man … for all peoples

What difference would it have made had God not chosen a people to model His nature to the world?

-  communicate through angels?

-  make declarations with written messages in the clouds?

-  would have been less personal

-  they were a specific example or model of how God loves, provides, forgives, guides, disciplines, etc.

In what ways has this role been taken over by the church and by individual believers?

-  the church has been given the Great Commission

-  we are to communicate to all peoples the Good News of salvation

-  the church (as a group and as individuals) is to be about the business of telling others who God is, what He is like, what He wants for them, how they can receive it

-  we are to live lives of holiness (separateness) in the midst of a pagan world

Consider that if we are listening to God carefully living to honor and please Him, then we will be

-  separate from the world while still living in it

-  representing Christ to the world … acting as priests in that way

3.2 How We Should Prepare

Listen for warnings given to the people.

Exodus 19:10-14 (NIV) And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes [11] and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. [12] Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. [13] He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain." [14] After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

What types of limitations do certain institutions have on our lives?

-  limitations placed on our driving … speed, direction, parking

-  limitations within a hospital … where you can be, when you can visit, how long you can stay

-  within an office building – time of entry, limitations placed on what areas you are allowed to go to

-  in factories – employees only areas, “hard hat” areas

-  airports – limitations placed on where you can be, what you can carry

How can boundaries prevent us from harming ourselves?

-  keep us from dangerous areas

-  keep us from interrupting someone who is busy

-  keep us from harming others

What specific instructions and boundaries did God set for Israelites?

-  consecrate themselves

-  wash their clothes

-  put limits around the mountain

-  don’t go up the mountain

-  don’t touch the foot of it

-  whoever touches the mountain will be put to death

-  wait for the sounding of the ram’s horn

Why does God place certain limitations on our lives?

-  God knows where there is danger

-  God knows where there are situations we cannot handle

-  He wants to prevent us from harming ourselves or others

-  He knows our limitations

Why are specific expectations a freeing thing?

-  we know exactly what to expect

-  we know the rules – we are not floundering not knowing what to do or how to do it

-  we are not left wondering what to do, what not to do

-  we can know that God’s boundaries are for our own good

Why then, do we resist God’s boundaries?

-  Satan tells us we’re missing the fun on the other side of the boundary

-  we think we might know better what the boundary should be

-  sometimes the boundaries are hard to stay within

Consider A.W. Tozer’s comment on sin: Sin, I repeat, in addition to anything else it may be, is always an act of wrong judgment. To commit a sin a man must for the moment believe that things are different from what they really are; he must confound values; he must see the moral universe out of focus; he must accept a lie as truth and see truth as a lie; he must ignore the signs on the highway and drive with his eyes shut; he must act as if he had no soul and was not accountable for his moral choices.

Man - The Dwelling Place of God, A.W. Tozer

3.3 What We Should Expect

Listen for phenomena that accompany God’s revelation of Himself.

Exodus 19:16-19 (NIV) On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. [17] Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. [18] Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, [19] and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

What were the sights and sounds the people experienced on the morning of the third day?

-  thunder

-  lightening

-  thick cloud over the mountain

-  loud trumpet blast

Where did Moses lead the people of Israel?

-  led them out of the camp

-  led them to a place to meet God

-  led them to the foot of the mountain

What did Mount Sinai look like?

-  covered with smoke

-  God had descended on the mountain in fire

-  smoke billowed up like from a furnace

-  mountain trembled violently

How do you think a person should respond who has encountered God?

-  in awe, fear, reverence

-  bowed down in reverence

-  with confession of our sinful condition in contrast to God’s righteousness

-  in submission

Why are we not excused from this expectation just because we haven’t seen God reveal Himself in the magnificent ways recorded here?

-  God is still the same powerful, awesome being now as then

-  He deserves our worship and our submission

-  consider that He reveals Himself in what we know about His creation … both the large and the small … the far reaches of the universe and the minutia of the atom

How can we arrive at a time of worship with the expectation that God wants to speak to us?

-  quiet down, not so boisterous

-  ask God to help you listen and pay attention

-  set aside daily pursuits

-  practice the presence of God … remind yourself that “God is here” (wherever you are)

4. Application

4.1 What the Lord begins, He continues … moving towards completion of His plan

-  He will deliver, protect, and draw His people to Himself

-  As a believer you are God’s special treasure

-  Allow God to make you holy, set aside to Him for His purposes

4.2 Know that God places boundaries on our actions and attitudes

-  Some of these are spelled out specifically in Scripture – as commands or as principles.

-  Other boundaries are impressed on our hearts and minds by God’s Holy Spirit

-  Heed these good boundaries as God’s protection and guidance

4.3 God will make Himself known

-  He is glorious … powerful … holy

-  This week, approach His presence with silence and holy awe – both in church and in personal worship

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